H5: YA Dark Fantasy (Own Voices): VITIUM
TITLE: VITIUM
AUTHOR: Steven J. Hanton
AGE CATEGORY: Young Adult
GENRE: Dark Fantasy (Afro-Latino Own Voices)
WORD COUNT: 78,000
PITCH:
To resurrect her brother, seventeen-year-old Daniela becomes one of Death’s Aspects: avatars of the Seven Deadly Sins tasked with killing immortals. But failing will transform her from hit-woman to target. KILL BILL meets FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST.
FIRST 250 WORDS:
As an Aspect of Death, I know exactly when I’m supposed to die. Down to the very second.
But standing at the top of the New York Times Building, I’m suddenly not so sure. Ambulance sirens below me whirl in my ears and a warm April breeze caresses my face. My lungs expand as I take in a breath. It feels strangely final.
No. I won’t die. And, to prove it to myself, I leap into the open air.
The rushing winds lash against me and rip my cheeks. My blood surges in my ears.
Why the hell do I always do stupid shit?
Terror constricts my throat. For a moment, I can’t breathe. But just as quickly, my adrenaline kicks in. Confidence surges beneath my skin.
“Look at the world, Dani! You run this!” I shout.
Screams from below interrupt my boasting. A kid points in my direction and yells for help. The people on the ground will probably be calling 911 soon. Gotta act fast.
“Ignore me,” I command them.
My voice strains in the gusts of air blowing around my face. They can’t hear me hundreds of feet down on the ground, but another Aspect perk is that they don’t need to. As long as I can see them, my commands work. And sure enough, people return to what they’re doing—buying street meat from sidewalk vendors, laughing with friends, taking pictures.
Good.
As I turn my head from the crowds, the howling of my inner demon starts.
renarossner
says:I’d love to take a look at this! Candy Castle!
Please Query + full manuscript attached as a word document to: rena (at) thedeborahharrisagency (dot) com
Christa Heschke (@ChristaHeschke)
says:I’d love to read this as I go down Gumdrop Pass! Please send the first 50 pages, query and synopsis to chquery [at] mcintoshandotis [dot] com with Pitch Madness request in the subject line.
Kari Sutherland
says:Whoa, talk about an action-packed opener! Can I please have a Gumdrop pass? Query/synopsis plus first 50 pages to: kari@bradfordlit.com 🙂
Whitley Abell
says:I’d love to read more! Please pass the gumdrop and send your query, first 50 pages, and synopsis in the email body to whitley[at]inklingsliterary[dot]com. Thanks!
Pete Knapp
says:Request to take the Cherry Pitfalls! Please send the query and the first 100 pages (attached as a Word document) to queries [at] parkliterary [dot] com. Please paste the query into both the body of the email and the first page of the Word document. Put “Pete Knapp – Pitch Madness” in the subject line.
Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary Agency
says:Gumdrop Pass for me, please. I’d love to see the query and first 50 pages. Please feel free to send to me at lara@andreabrownlit.com with “Requested: PitMad” as the subject. Thank you!